Section two the brain
The brain consists of four parts:
brain stem,
cerebellum,
diencephalon and
telencephalon.
I. The brain stem
includes
medulla oblongata,
pons ,
midbrain
(I) External features
1. The ventral surface of brain stem
① medulla oblongata
• pyramid, decussation of pyramid,
• olive,
• four pairs of cranial nerves emerge from the
medulla oblongata ( IX-XII, glossopharyngeal
N, vagus N, accessory N and hypoglossal N)
② pons
• basilar sulcus,
• middle cerebellar peduncles ,
• four pairs of cranial nerves emerge from the
pons ( V- VIII, the trigeminal N, abducent N,
facial N and vestibulocochlear N)
③ midbrain
• cerebral peduncles,
• two pairs of cranial nerves emerge from the
midbrain ( III – IV, the oculomotor N and
trochlear N)
2. The dorsal surface of brain stem
① the medulla oblongata
• striae medullares
• gracile tubercle,
• cuneate tubercle,
• hypoglossal trigone
• vagal trigone
② pons
• median sulcus
• sulcus limitans
• medial eminence:facial colliculus
• vestibular area
• locus ceruleus
③ midbrain
• superior and inferior colliculi ( quadrigeminal body ).
the superior colliculi are involved in visual reflexes
and the inferior involved the auditory reflexes.
• brachium of superior colliculus (pass to the lateral
geniculate body)
• brachium of inferior colliculus (pass to the medial
geniculate body)
• trochlear nerve
• superior cerebellar peduncles and superior
medullary velum
3 The rhomboid fossa
①Boundaries
• upper: superior cerebellar peduncles
• lower: inferior cerebellar peduncles, cuneate
and gracile tuberlces
4. The fourth ventricle
①Location: among cerebellum, the dorsal
surface of the medulla oblongata and pons
② Communication: continuous below with the
central canal and above with the
mesencephalic (cerebral ) aqueduct
Fourth ventricle
(II) Internal structure of brain stem
1. Features
①The fourth ventricle appears
②Relation between the motor nucleus and sensory
nucleus is medial and lateral
③Gray and white matters are not continuous
④Cranial nerve nuclei have seven functional
components
⑤The region of reticular formation is widely
2. Cranial nerve nuclei(seven types)
①General somatic efferent(motor) nuclei:
innervate striated muscles that are derived
from somites and involved in eye and tongue
movements. Such as:
hypoglossal nucleus of XII,
oculomotor nucleus of III,
trochlear nucleus of IV,
and abducens nucleus of VI .
②General visceral efferent(motor) nuclei:
innervate smooth muscles and the glands in
the head, neck and torso(trunk).
Such as:
accessory oculomotor nucleus
(Edinger-Westphal) of III,
superior salivatory nucleus of VII,
inferior salivatory nucleus of IX
and dorsal motor nucleus of X.
③Special visceral efferent(motor) nuclei:
innervate muscles that are derived from the brachial
arches and are involved in chewing, making facial
expressions, swallowing, producing vocal sounds,
and turning the head. Such as:
• trigeminal motor nucleus of V,
• facial nucleus of VII,
• ambiguous nucleus of IX, X, and XI,
• spinal accessory nucleus of XI.
④General visceral afferent(sensory) nuclei:
receive the visceral sense from the head, neck
and torso. Such as :
nucleus of solitary tract of VII,IX, and X.
⑤Special visceral afferent(sensory) nuclei:
receive taste sense. Nuclei are the same as the
④.
⑥General somatic afferent(sensory) nuclei:
receive sense from the skin and mucosa of the
head. Such as :
mesencephalic nucleus of V,
pontine nucleus of V,
nucleus of spinal trigeminal tract .
⑦Special somatic afferent(sensory) nuclei:
receive the senses of hearing and equilibrium.
Such as :
four vestibular nuclei
and two cochlear nuclei.
3 Other nerve nuclei
①Medulla: gracile nucleus and cuneate nucleus
②Pons: pontine nucleus
③Midbrain: superior and inferior colliculi; red
nucleus; substantia nigra
gracile nucleus and cuneate nucleus
pontine nuclei
inferior colliculus
Superior colliculus; red nucleus; substantia nigra
4 Ascending tracts
①Medial lemniscus: gracile and cuneate nuclei
give rise to a crossed fiber bundle to form
medial lemniscus.
Medial lemniscus
②Spinal lemniscus: It is continuous with the
spinothalamic tract in the spinal cord.
③Lateral lemniscus: The fibers arising from the
contralateral anterior and posterior cochlear
nuclei, and superior olivary nucleus, and the
ipsilateral olivary nucleus make up the lateral
lemniscus.
④Trigeminal lemniscus:
The pontine nucleus of V, nucleus of spinal trigeminal
tract give rise to a crossed fiber bundle to form the
trigeminal lemniscus.
5 Descending tracts
①Pyramidal system: consists of the
corticospinal tract(pyramidal tract) and
corticonuclear tract
Pyramidal tract
Corticonuclear tract
6 Reticular formation
① Definition(term): is localized in the
tegmentum of the brain stem (with exception
of the conspicuous fiber bundles and nuclei of
the brain stem), the lateral hypothalamic area,
and the medial, intralaminar, and reticular
nuclei of the thalamus.
Reticular formation
This area is characterized by a diffuse, seemingly
unorganized structure with interlacing cells and
fibers.Scattered through the reticular formation lie
some cell accumulations with ill defined
boundaries(reticular nuclei: unpaired raphe
nuclei,paired medial nuclei , paired lateral nuclei).
Most reticular neurons are fairly large, and it is
notable that the larger neurons are found more
medially while the smaller ones are located more
laterally.
②Function
• control respiration and cardiovascular system
functions;
• states of consciousness,sleep, and alertness.
